In general, a compressor used for an air conditioning system of a vehicle functions to convert the evaporated refrigerant sucked from an evaporator into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant to be prone to liquefaction, and to transfer the converted refrigerant to a condenser.
The compressor is classified according to the compression operation thereof, and performs the compression operation by driving force provided from the engine of the vehicle or by driving of an electric motor (hereinafter, referred to be as a motor) using electric power supplied separately.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional compressor that performs a compression operation by driving of a motor. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a connector and a motor terminal of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional compressor includes, within a casing 1, a motor 2 that generates driving force, a compression mechanism 3 that is driven by the motor 2 to compress a refrigerant, an inverter 4 that controls the motor 2, and a connector 5 that electrically connects the motor 2 and the inverter 4, and variably adjusts cooling efficiency while adjusting a revolutions per minute of the motor 2 by the control of the inverter 4.
Here, the motor 2 is typically provided in a motor accommodation space S1 defined at one side of the casing 1, the inverter 4 is typically provided in an inverter accommodation space S2 defined at one side of the casing 1, and the connector 5 seals the motor accommodation space S1 and the inverter accommodation space S2 and is connected to a terminal 24 of the motor 2 (hereinafter, referred to as a motor terminal) and a terminal 43 of the inverter 4 (hereinafter, referred to as an inverter terminal) to electrically connect the motor 2 and the inverter 4.
The connector 5 includes a terminal pin 52 that connects the motor 2 and the inverter 4 through a terminal holder 51 to be described later, the terminal holder 51 that supports the terminal pin 52 and seals the motor accommodation space S 1 and the inverter accommodation space S2, and an insulator 53 that insulates between the terminal holder 51 and the terminal pin 52.
The motor terminal 24 electrically connects a coil 212 extending from the motor 2 to the connector 5.
Specifically, the motor terminal 24 includes a terminal block 241 having an internal space therein, and a connection terminal 242 that is made of a conductive material and is provided in the internal space of the terminal block 241.
The connection terminal 242 is connected to the coil 212, which is inserted into the internal space of the terminal block 241 through the terminal block 241, and to the connector 5, which is inserted into the internal space of the terminal block 241 through the terminal block 241, thereby electrically connecting the coil 212 and the connector 5.
However, the conventional compressor is problematic in that an electric leakage occurs in an electric circuit between the inverter 4 and the motor 2 due to the refrigerant. Specifically, an electric leakage may occur in the motor terminal 24 due to the refrigerant introduced into the terminal block 241. That is, the current flowing in the coil 212, the connection terminal 242, and the connector 5 may be shorted to the terminal block 241 due to the refrigerant. Hence, the compressor may malfunction and be damaged. Meanwhile, since the refrigerant in the motor accommodation space S1 is introduced into the inverter accommodation space S2 through the connecting portion between the connector 5 and the casing 1, an electric leakage may occur in the inverter 4.
In addition, the coil 212 and the connector 5 may be separated from the motor terminal 24 due to vibration.